Expansible filing system.



No. 722,709. y i I' PATENTBD MAR. 17, 190s. D. E. HUNTER.

BXPANSIBLE FILING SYSTEM.

APPLIOATION FILED snm'. 4. 1902. No'moDnL. f a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 722,709. PATENTED MAE-17, 1903.

- D. E. HUNTER.

. EXEANSIBLE FILING SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4, 1902.

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PATENTBD MAR. '17, 1903;"

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APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4:. 1902.

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UNrrn rares ATENT Enron.

DAVID E. HUNTER, OFV CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGN OR TO LIBRARYBUREAU, OFr BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- TION OFVNEW JERSEY.

.EXPANSIBLYE FILING SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent o. 722,709, dated March 17,1903.` Application filed September yil, 1902. Serial ll'o. V122,055. (Nomodel.)

T0 all whom it' may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID E. HUNTER, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex land State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in ExpansibleFiling Systems, of which the following is a specification. '1

My invention and improvements relate to expansible filing systems, knownto the trade as unit systems, of which the chief characteristic is theirexpansibility to meet increasing needs of the user. This expansibilityis derived from the use of units which Ybeing similar in some essentialexternal respect can be added to each other, forming gradual accretionsupon the previously-installed system. These units have been variouslyequipped with devices for-filing documents or wares, these specialequipments, however, being made to fit within the unit itself, which cangenerally be described as a cabinet unit. My improvements are addressedespecially to combinations of units which are vertically disposed andwill be found adapted to instances where the units, whether verticallyor otherwise disposed, are of considerable size and weight.

In the drawingshereto annexed,which illustrate an embodiment of myinvention and improvements, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a cabinetunit detached. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an end panel or cover forthe cabinet of Fig. l, likewise detached; Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof a separator or liller, also applicable to the cabinet unit of Fig. land likewise detached. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a system of cabinetunits. Fig. 5 is a vertical elevation of the system shown in plan inFig. 4; Fig. 6,'a detail, on an enlarged scale, showing the mode offastening adjacent cabinet units over a separator. Fig. 7 is a detail,on an enlarged scale, showing a mode of fastening an end cover or panelto a cabinet unit. FigyS is a horizontal section of a system of units,taken at the line 8 8 in Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a vertical section of asystem of units, taken at the line 9 9, Fig. l0. Fig. lO is a verticalcross-section of a cabinet unit,

taken at the line 10 10 of Fig. 9; and Fig. 1l is a detail inperspective, on an enlarged scale, showing the mode of operation of theimproved locking devices which constitute a part of my invention andimprovements.

Referring to the first sheet of drawings, whereon are depicted the threemost characteristic portions or elements which enter into my invention,A, Fig. l, is a vertical cabinet, shown as equipped with sliding drawersD, which slide upon extension-slides D' in the manner described inUnited States Letters Patent Nos. 573,978 and 696,049. These drawers Dare shown chiefly for the purposes of illustration, and any otherdesirable filing device or equipment vmay be substituted for the drawerwithout affecting .the principal features of construction and mode ofvoperation ofV my invention. The unit A is a vertical framework whereofthe solid contour is symmetrical with reference to a vertical medianplane which intersects the side of the unit at the line p p. Fasteningdevices,'such as the holes a ct, are provided in the uprights a of theunit, and these fastening devices are likewise grouped symmetricallywith reference to the said median plane. The sides of the unit A areunfinished, and where in a system made'up of such units aside of` anAend unit A, which is consequently the end of the system of which theunit is a part, requires a proper cover or finish for this purpose Iprovide the end cover C, (shown in Fig. 2,) which, like the unit A, issymmetrical in contour with reference to theline p p, which representsthe intersection with the end cover A of the median plane aforesaid. Outhe end ycover C, I provide fastening devices c, which,

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with reference to the line p p like the end cover C, and are providedwith fastening means b b, also symmetrically grouped, as aforesaid, andso disposed as to register correctly with the fastening means a a, whichare provided in either side of each of the units A. A hole or bearing ois also provided in the separator B and performs a function which willbe presently described.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the manner in which the units of my improvedeXpansible system may be assembled to form an operative combination. Asthe units A, separators B, and end covers C all possess a superficialcontour symmetrical with reference to the median plane p p and havefastening devices arranged symmetrically also, I am enabled to place theunits A indifferently in either of two positions, so that the front ofone unit may be beside the back of the next or so that all or part ofthe units of a system shall present their fronts in alinement on oneside. As the end covers C and separators B are symmetrical in outline,they may be applied to the system no matter what may be the arrangementor facing of the units themselves. The advantage of this capacity forreversal of position will be evident when one considers thatfiling-cabinets of the character indicated are made for purposes ofconsultation and reference and in a large system are used constantly bymany persons. If three or more cabinets, such as A, are placed facingthe same way and adjacent to each other, as on the right-hand end ofFig. 4, and three persons have occasion simultaneously to consultdrawers in these three units, crowding and inconvenience will ensue andpossibly one or more of these persons will be obliged to wait untilanother has finished his business at the cabinet, thus involving asacrifice of the facility and celerity of action which is the mainobject of filing systems; but if the cabinet units A of my system arearranged as indicated on the left-hand end of Fig. 4, where the frontand backs of the cabinet units alternate with each other, every cabinetunit in the system may be consulted at the same time withoutinvolvingcrowding or inconvenience, and yet no valuable space need be sacrificedto accomplish this result.

A mode of fastening the units of my system is shown in Figs. 6 and 7. InFig. 6 the upright members a of adjacent units A are placed over` theseparator B and the holes a made to register with the holes b. The holesa are countersunk at a2, so as to receive the ends ofthe bolts E. Thesebolts pass through the holes a and b and are provided with nuts e at oneend and thumb-screws e at the other, by which means the three parts aand B are securely bound together. In Fig. 7, which shows a mode offastening the end cover C to the side of the end unit of such a system,the holes c are provided with threaded bushings c', which take the boltsF, which are provided with thumb-screwsf. The bolts F pass through theholes a and into the bushings c and are set up tight in the countersunkportions ctz of the holes a.

From the above description it is obvious without further description howto assemble or separate the component parts of my improved expansibleunit system.

Part of my invention and improvements relate to a locking mechanismwhereby several units of a system such as the one above described mayhave their contents securely locked or unlocked by means of a single keyor equivalent controlling device. The form of lock for the drawers Dwhich may be used can of course be varied to suit dierent ideas orpurposes. I show in the drawings hereto annexed a form of locksubstantially like that set forth and described in detail in UnitedStates Letters Patent No. 591,552, to which I refer. In one of thecabinet units A (see Figs. 9 and 10) I provide a locking mechanism suchas that described in the patent aforesaid, wherein the keyhole andlock-controller L L' operate the crank-plate L2, whereof the pinactuates the lever L3, which in turn, by embracing and acting upon thebail G' of the shaft or rod G, raises or lowers the bolt-slides H, andconsequently the bolt-pins I-I, which in turn, by moving from thenotches I into notches M, lock or unlock all the drawers D of the tier.In each of the adjacent units A of the system a similar lockingmechanism is provided,with the exception of any individual controllingdevices such as briefly described above. Instead the locking mechanismof each adjacent unit is controlled from the above-described lockingmechanism of the first unit. I accomplish this by means shown in detailin Fig. 11. The shafts or rods G of adjacent cabinet units are so placedthat when the units are assembled in system the rods G are in alinementwith each other. In the ends of the rods G which stand flush with thesides of the cabinet units I provide-notches or slits g and insert inthe holes 0, Fig. 3, which are provided in the separators B and registerwith the rods G, the couplings N, which in this instance are cylindricalblocks provided with projecting tongues n, which register with and fitinto the notches g in the rods G. By this means the locking devices ofadjacent units may be coupled or uncoupled at will and the drawers ofseveral units be placed within the control of a single key.

What I claim is- 1. In an expansible unit system, the combination of aplurality of duplicate cabinet units, separators, and means for bindingadjacent units together over an intervening separator.

2. In an expansible unit system the com bination of a plurality ofduplicate cabinet units, separators, means for binding adjacent unitstogether over an intervening separator, end covers, and means forblind-fastening the end covers to the units.

3. In an expansible unit system, the com- IOO IIO

bination of a plurality of duplicate cabinet units, separators,fastening devices for binding adjacent units together over auintervening separator, said fastening devices being symmetricallyarranged With reference to the median plane of the system, and endcovers interchangeable with the separators and having fastening meanswhich register with the separator-fasteners.

4. In an expansible unit system, the combination of duplicate verticalcabinet units, having each a solid contour symmetrical With reference toa median plane, separators, and end covers both similarly symmetrical,and fastening means symmetrically disposed with reference to the saidplane, the separators and end covers being mutually interchange-

